ESPN anchor spurs controversy over Trump Twitter rant
ESPN sports personality, Jemele Hill, engaged in a Twitter rant Monday evening regarding President Trump, calling him a “bigot” and “white supremacist." ESPN viewers, Trump supports and other Twitter users immediately lashed out against Hill’s tweets.
On Tuesday, ESPN released a statement via its Twitter public relations account, recognizing the inappropriateness of its sports anchor’s tweets.
“The comments on Twitter from Jemele Hill regarding the President do not represent the position of ESPN. We have addressed this with Jemele and she recognizes her actions were inappropriate,” @ESPNPR tweeted.
Not only did Hill label Trump as a white supremacist and “the most ignorant, offensive president of [her] time,” but she also acknowledged the threat of white supremacy in the United States today.
“The height of white privilege is being able to ignore his white supremacy, because it’s of no threat to you. Well, it’s a threat to me,” Hill tweeted.
Hill’s tweets spurred mixed reactions from the Twitter community. Trump supporters responded to her tweets by calling her a multitude of names, including a liar, diversity hire, and a black racist. Many accounts also question ESPN’s decision not to immediately fire Hill from the network, thus questioning the network’s judgement of political and personal relations.
In contrast to the criticism, many Twitter users agree with Hill’s claims towards Trump. American television producer and writer, Michael Herbert Shur, (KenTremendous) tweeted, “Everything Jemele Hill tweeted is accurate…How is it even controversial to say that Donald Trump is a bigot? He says it himself, all the time.”
Similarly, Black Feminist writer, editor and scholar, Evette Dione (freeblackgirl), tweeted, “I stand with Jemele Hill. Donald Trump IS a white supremacist. That’s not a suggestion up for debate. It’s a fact.”
This is not the first time ESPN has dealt with issues pertaining to white supremacy or racial issues. In August, ESPN removed news reporter, Robert Lee, from covering the University of Virginia’s first football game of the season due to his shared name with the Confederate general, Robert E. Lee. This removal came after the Charlottesville riots, where protesters advocated for white supremacy through violence.
ESPN has yet to solidify the future for Hill’s position as the co-host of the 6pm SportsCenter.
